Player of the week: Chelsea’s Eden Hazard scored the all-important goal against Manchester United to take his total tally to 13 for the season and practically end the title race in favour of the Blues. PHOTO: AFP
KARACHI: Eden Hazard asserted his credentials for the PFA Player of the Year award — as he has been doing time and again all season — after practically handing Chelsea the title, and the euphoria emanating from Stamford Bridge after the 1-0 win over third-placed Manchester United was tantamount to the significance of the contribution by the Belgian.
Regardless of how many times Jose Mourinho diverts our attention to the ‘title mathematics’, he found it hard to hide the smile which confirmed that the title would certainly be coming to Stamford Bridge for the first time since 2010 as two wins would confirm the title for the Blues, who would be relishing in the experience that comes along being crowned as the English champions.
As Hazard put to rest the dilemma of the title race, it was bottom-of-the-table Leicester, who emerged as the biggest winners with their 2-0 win over Swansea at the King Power Stadium.
Following a promising start to the season, Nigel Pearson’s men had stumbled and found themselves right at the bottom of the Premier League table. However, three consecutive wins have brought the Foxes close to Premier League survival and keeping in mind the remaining fixtures of fellow relegation strugglers, especially Hull City, supporters at the King Power Stadium suddenly have a lifeline to hang on to.
Hull have lost their last three games and remain winless in their last six as Steve Bruce’s men find themselves equal on points with Leicester and have to face Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester United — all of whom are vying for European qualification and would be disappointed to not beat the Tigers.
Meanwhile, defending champions Manchester City returned to winning ways, following back-to-back defeats, with a 2-0 win over West Ham as James Collins’ own goal opened the scoring and Sergio Aguero doubled the lead in the 36th minute to give the Citizens a seven-point cushion over top-four rivals Liverpool — who have a game in hand due to their FA Cup semi-final commitment with Aston Villa, which they lost 2-1.
Tottenham kept their Europa hopes alive with a routine 3-1 win over Newcastle at St James’ Park as Nacer Chadli, Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane got their name on the scoresheets to pull Spurs one point above Southampton, who came empty-handed from their trip to Stoke after losing 2-1 to Mark Hughes’ men.
Meanwhile, things did not look so rosy at St James Park where John Carver’s men succumbed to their sixth consecutive defeat — the worst form amidst Premier League clubs — and Newcastle fans booed their team off the pitch after the match following protests against chairman Mike Ashley.
On the other hand, Everton continued their good run of form and a 1-0 win over 10-men Burnley gifted them their fourth win in five games and extended their unbeaten run to five matches, while West Brom replaced Newcastle on 13th with a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace.
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